AUCD | Project

Project Description:

The Hawaiʻi Positive Engagement Project's (H-PEP) mission is to innovatively address Native Hawaiian parent, educator, and student needs that have been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a training grant with an evaluation piece and not considered research. Goal 1: Address Native Hawaiian educator and parent toxic stress resulting from the pandemic so that they are the most effective when working with and parenting Native Hawaiian students/children. Activities: Facilitate five 10-week support cohorts for Native Hawaiian parents and educators (pre-K to high school). Engage participants through research-based Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) aligned with Hawaii DOE's Nā Hopena Aʻo. Literacy through activity-based bookmaking will be an integral part of the cohort curriculum, linking project objectives 1 and 2. Participants will implement projects aligned with well-being and literacy in their schools and some will have the opportunity to earn a higher education certificate from the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, furthering their training and development. Anticipated outcomes: Increased self-ratings of well-being/ self-efficacy/ quality of instruction; Family engagement and home-school connection through bookmaking strategies; and Goal setting & completion. Numbers served via Obj 1: 150 parents; 150 educators and tangentially their 3,000 students (estimated 20 students/class). Sites: Kāneʻohe Elementary, Pūʻōhala School, University Laboratory, Seagull Schools (5 Oʻahu sites), and Imua Inclusion Preschool on Maui. Goal 2: Build Native Hawaiian student literacy through the use of the Storytelling for the Home Enrichment of Language and Literacy Skills (SHELLS) model, an experiential bookmaking model that encourages positive parent-child engagement. Activities: Facilitate eight 4-week literacy support groups for Native Hawaiian parents of students (with or without a disability) who need additional support in reading and writing using the SHELLS model. Facilitate 15 monthly standalone SHELLS bookmaking weekend workshops for Native Hawaiian parents and young children who need support but are not able to commit to a cohort. 3 Anticipated outcomes: Increased: Parent knowledge in and support of literacy strategies; Positive parent-child and parent-educator engagement; and Number of books in home. Numbers served in Obj 2: 200 parents in groups; 225parents and 225 children (grades PreK-12 but focusing on grades PreK-3) in workshops. Sites: Educator participants in Objective 1, staff from our 9 partner schools, and community partners (Special Parent Information Network, Hawaiʻi's Department of Health Early Intervention Section, and Ceeds of Peace) will refer parents of students to participate in SHELLS groups. The focus will be on students with disabilities or those who are at-risk or in-need of additional literacy support. Community sites Bishop Museum and Nā Mea Hawaiʻi will host SHELLS weekend workshops, open to all Native Hawaiian families but focused on recruiting families of students with disabilities. Goal 3: Conduct research on the current status and needs of Native Hawaiian educators and parents. Activities: Quantitative measures (number of recent adverse experiences; stress; burnout; depressive symptoms; well-being; happiness; teaching self-efficacy and home literacy practices) in addition to demographics. Qualitative analysis of participants' reflections. Process evaluation. Anticipated outcomes: Widely disseminated evaluation outcomes, providing useful information on Native Hawaiian needs.

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Hawaii Positive Engagement Project (H-PEP): SPARK Aloha